In The Passionate Teacher, Ron Fried describes the Game of School (GOS) as what happens when teachers and students forsake intellectual work and instead engage in their classes as rituals. Take this opportunity to consider this chapter in light of some of the the other experiences that you've had this semester to answer at
least three of the following questions:
What elements of the game of school are you seeing in your placements?
How have you seen teachers fight the game of school in their classes?
What features can you plan into your units that might discourage the GOS?
Finally, what impact will this description of the GOS have on your own approach to teaching as expressed in your teaching philosophy?
In my middle school, I see it a lot in the warm-up activity. The students are given a warm up activity when they walk into class that is not graded, it is just as an intro to what they will be doing in class. After 5-10 minutes, we go over the warm up together as a class. I see many of the students who don't look at the worksheet until the class does it together. They see that it isn't graded so they do not see why they should put the effort into trying it before we go over it as a class. I also see the GOS in group work activities. There are always the students who take charge and do a lot of the work and there are the students who watch or distract and do not do much of the work. If the teacher does not actively encourage participation from everyone, this will usually happen. My middle school ct walks around during her labs and lessons asking questions and trying to involve all her students so they do not disengage. She also emphasizes organization in her science classroom which I think is important to avoiding GOS. All the students have their own "science journals" that they have directions how to organize. This gets the students to think like scientists and avoid getting around assignments.
In my high school I went on a field trip where the students had to fill out a single sided worksheet about the plants they see, invasive species and the jobs of people they meet. Most students were actively seeking answers for the questions but I did see some students just asking our guide questions strategically for the answers. Also some of the students were trying to look up some of the answers on their phones and sharing answers with each other. The teacher did not really mind because the students were really learning and genuinely intregued with what they were learning so he was happy that it was a fun and educational experience for everyone. The more time I spend in the high school the more GOS i am assuming I will see.
I am 22 years old and in my 5th year of college and this is the first time I have seen this be defined as the "game of school". I have been doing this since probably 5th grade in many of my classes. If there is an easy way to do something (especially in a class I don't like) I find the way. For example, I strongly disliked english classes, I never read the books. I was all about sparknotes, bookrags or wikipedia. Because I am so good at the game of school as a student, I feel as though I can use this to my advantage as a teacher to discourage student's from doing it or by making the game of school more difficult. Its like anything you do, the better you are at something the bigger advantage you have.
I plan on making the GOS hard for students to play. Homework assignments will not be straight from the text. I want students abstractly thinking about what they learned and making real life connections and giving examples. I also will be giving assignments that students will not be able to do in the hallway before class like I have done so many times. For essays and assignments involving science journals, the students will be given paramaders I want them to meet. I dont want them searching for the shortest journal and writing on that one. I will be creating alot of my own assignments for the students so it will be harder for the students to search the question. With technology and the internet continuously expanding, the GOS is getting more and more accessible for both students and teachers. I am willing to put in the extra effort to make school a more intellectual and meaningful education and push my students to put their best foot forward and make it harder for them to skate by.
least three of the following questions:
In my middle school, I see it a lot in the warm-up activity. The students are given a warm up activity when they walk into class that is not graded, it is just as an intro to what they will be doing in class. After 5-10 minutes, we go over the warm up together as a class. I see many of the students who don't look at the worksheet until the class does it together. They see that it isn't graded so they do not see why they should put the effort into trying it before we go over it as a class. I also see the GOS in group work activities. There are always the students who take charge and do a lot of the work and there are the students who watch or distract and do not do much of the work. If the teacher does not actively encourage participation from everyone, this will usually happen. My middle school ct walks around during her labs and lessons asking questions and trying to involve all her students so they do not disengage. She also emphasizes organization in her science classroom which I think is important to avoiding GOS. All the students have their own "science journals" that they have directions how to organize. This gets the students to think like scientists and avoid getting around assignments.
In my high school I went on a field trip where the students had to fill out a single sided worksheet about the plants they see, invasive species and the jobs of people they meet. Most students were actively seeking answers for the questions but I did see some students just asking our guide questions strategically for the answers. Also some of the students were trying to look up some of the answers on their phones and sharing answers with each other. The teacher did not really mind because the students were really learning and genuinely intregued with what they were learning so he was happy that it was a fun and educational experience for everyone. The more time I spend in the high school the more GOS i am assuming I will see.
I am 22 years old and in my 5th year of college and this is the first time I have seen this be defined as the "game of school". I have been doing this since probably 5th grade in many of my classes. If there is an easy way to do something (especially in a class I don't like) I find the way. For example, I strongly disliked english classes, I never read the books. I was all about sparknotes, bookrags or wikipedia. Because I am so good at the game of school as a student, I feel as though I can use this to my advantage as a teacher to discourage student's from doing it or by making the game of school more difficult. Its like anything you do, the better you are at something the bigger advantage you have.
I plan on making the GOS hard for students to play. Homework assignments will not be straight from the text. I want students abstractly thinking about what they learned and making real life connections and giving examples. I also will be giving assignments that students will not be able to do in the hallway before class like I have done so many times. For essays and assignments involving science journals, the students will be given paramaders I want them to meet. I dont want them searching for the shortest journal and writing on that one. I will be creating alot of my own assignments for the students so it will be harder for the students to search the question. With technology and the internet continuously expanding, the GOS is getting more and more accessible for both students and teachers. I am willing to put in the extra effort to make school a more intellectual and meaningful education and push my students to put their best foot forward and make it harder for them to skate by.